NED BARTLAM. 29 



ing that he looks upon us all with peculiar com- 

 placency. 



Amongst the many * honest anglers' whom I 

 have occasionally met with, and who are, like my- 

 self ' dear lovers and constant practisers of the 

 art/ there is no one whose society affords me 

 greater pleasure than Ned Bartlam's. I met him 

 during a little fishing excursion I made along the 

 banks of the Thames, somewhere between Reading 

 and Oxford. He was then dressed in a green 

 jacket, which came well over his knees, and which 

 had seen good service ; and he had on a pair of 

 unusually thick shoes and strong gaiters, with a 

 straw hat. His fishing-basket was hanging behind 

 him. There was, however, something in, his air 

 and appearance which made me immediately see 

 that he was a gentleman. He was accompanied by 

 a little terrier dog, who employed himself in snuffing 

 at the various rat-holes by the side of the river. 

 I should add that his rod was handled in a masterly 

 manner. Having accidentally occasion for his 

 assistance in helping me to land a fish, our ac- 

 quaintance began, and was resumed that same 

 evening at a small comfortable inn where we had 

 both taken up our temporary abode. I found my 

 new friend perfectly well skilled in the art of fly 

 fishing ; and his collection of flies, which were all 

 of his own making, was really beautiful. As I am 



